


To Hell and Back

by cradlesong



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Apocalypse, BAMF Braeden, BAMF Derek Hale, BAMF Melissa McCall, BAMF Stiles, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Original Character(s), Post-Apocalypse, Post-Season 5A, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-17 13:52:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10595337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cradlesong/pseuds/cradlesong
Summary: “After all this time, out of everyone I left behind; I chose to save you!” Derek weeps.  His clouded eyes fall to the ground, swiftly trailed by his buckling knees.  Stiles stands at a distance, quivering beneath the sheets of chilled rain, pale and sullen amongst the silver forest.“But why?” he asks, his voice meek and hollow, a whisper blanketed by torment.“Because,” Derek sobs, “it’s you, Stiles.  It’s always been you.”  The fallen man lifts his head, eyes burning like blue infernos, scorching Stiles with their gaze.  “I’ve always loved you.”------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The world isn’t how it used to be.  The Dread Doctors were successful in creating the perfect beasts.  Beasts that have besieged the world, destroying it, and now plaguing what little they left of it in their wake.Set sometime after season 5A.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a fanfic for you all that I sincerely hope you enjoy! Don't be afraid to drop a kudos or leave a comment, if you have in fact enjoyed it! :)

The chatter of the crackling fire travels throughout the forest, keeping Stiles awake. He watches as the embers accompany the billowing smoke into the air, only to be swept away by the breeze’s current. It scatters the bright flecks far and wide, until eventually they camouflage themselves against the backdrop of stars that hangs overhead. 

He had never given the stars much thought. Before, he simply knew of their existence, and accepted it, but had never truly seen them in all of their magnificence until the world went dark. And it’s for this reason that their beauty only stirs within him agony. They’re but a constant reminder of everything that he’s lost, everyone that he couldn’t save.

It had only taken a year for the mutations to wreak havoc on the world. The pack had made its best efforts at destroying the Dread Doctors and their wicked monsters, yet still their attempts were thwarted. In complete honesty, they hadn’t a chance to hinder the evils that were concocted. Their pack was small, and at the time divided. Even with Theo and the rest of the chimeras to assist them with their endeavor, the Doctors were always a step ahead. Stiles knew as soon as the Beast killed its first victim that it was the end, but he didn’t want to believe it, so he instead kept fighting. But the mutants couldn’t be contained. They began appearing, seemingly from nowhere, all around the globe, terrorizing and destroying all that they could.     

Stiles can still recall the initial news broadcasts, the acute fear which plagued all that existed. People didn’t know what to think or how to react. The few beasts that _were_ subdued were tested, and when scientists revealed that they could “morph” into human beings, people began forsaking one another rather than uniting together. That was about the time that Derek returned, with Braeden in tow. He first approached Scott, proposing a plan of action that involved fleeing the city and seeking refuge in some remote corner of the world. But the young alpha fervently believed that there was still a way to put an end to the tragedy at hand and refused to abandon his cause. Derek then came to Stiles, Malia and Kira, asking them to convince Scott to take his plea. This was a fruitless venture as they all expected. But in the end, it was a bargain that they all should’ve taken. Not even a week later another beast manifested in town. It took the lives’ of hundreds, including one of their own, before the pack could slay it.

Liam was the first to perish. The teen was nearly torn in half during his final battle. Stiles can still feel the young man’s slick blood on his palm. He died before they even arrived at the hospital. Everything spiraled into chaos after that. Another beast seemed to materialize with each new week. The next person to pass was Kira, then after that, Malia, until only Scott, Stiles, and Lydia remained. And even that didn’t last for long. He and Scott, along with the sheriff, Melissa, Derek, and Braeden were all stowed away in a bunker beneath the Hale ruins when another beast attacked. Cornered and frightened the group hadn’t any other choice but to retaliate. They each did what they could, but ultimately the sheriff and Scott were both slaughtered before Braeden ended it all with a tactical grenade and her crossbow.         

The surviving foursome then immediately abandoned Beacon Hills. However, Stiles refused to leave without revisiting Eichen House in an attempt to save Lydia. His hopes were instantly dashed, for when the four arrived the place was scorched to the ground. After that, they began traveling north. Derek and Braeden both thought that Alaska was the strongest bet for survival. Melissa and Stiles didn’t have it in them to argue, they had each lost so much. Before long, the group encountered other survivors, but Braeden didn’t take any chances. She killed each person they met on the spot. For months now these are the thoughts that have plagued his consciousness: for this is what all of their lives’ have become, ceaseless torment and constant desolation.

The din of crunching leaves and twigs calls his attention back to the campsite. His eyes promptly shift to the sleeping figures around him. Melissa lies to his right, sleeping as soundly as one can in the restless forest. Straight ahead, past the fire, he sees Braeden as well, but when he looks to his left, he sees only an abandoned sleeping roll. He quickly adjusts himself from within his sleeping bag, liberating his long legs from their confines. He slowly pushes himself to his feet as quietly as he’s able to, and then sets off in the direction that the noise came from. This immediately plunges him into the murky forest. The light of the dying fire doesn’t easily scour the gathering of trees that populate his surroundings, and within moments he’s left alone in the darkness.

“Derek?” he whispers to the trees. He hears the man’s gruff voice from somewhere nearby.

“Over here.” Stiles turns to his right before he hears it a second time. “Other way.” A few moments later he approaches Derek. The man sits slouched atop a boulder. “Why aren’t you asleep?” The question is oddly comforting to Stiles. Its familiarity spawns within him a sort of false safety, one that he ardently clings to. The truth is, he and Derek have fallen into a routine these past few months. Derek stalks off whilst the others are sleeping, always with the knowledge that Stiles will follow. 

“You’re one to talk,” Stiles replies, walking to the other side of the large rock. Derek’s response is filled with subdued uncertainty.

“You got me there,” says the older man, making room enough for Stiles to take a seat. The duo sits in silence for a long while, content in one another’s company. The only sound is that of the forest. 

“Derek,” Stiles says eventually, his voice low and vulnerable, cutting through the stillness, “what are we doing?” Derek raises his head at that, turning it to look at the boy’s face. Stiles looks out into the distance, his wide eyes glazed over in a trance like state.  

“What do you mean?” Derek queries.

“I mean,” Stiles whispers, “what’s the point of it all?”

“Stiles—“ Derek starts, only to be cut off by the boy’s hushed sobs.

“It—it’s just,” Stiles stutters, “they’re all dead, Derek. Every single one of them is dead, and I couldn’t save them.” Derek understands the pain that Stiles bears better than anyone, but he doesn’t possess the words to comfort the young man. He instead drapes an arm over the boy’s shoulder, holding him close. They stay like this for some time until Stiles eventually falls asleep in his arms. Derek carries him back to the campsite, unzipping the boy’s sleeping bag and tucking him inside. But sleep doesn’t find Derek so easily, he instead lies awake, gazing up at the sky, admiring the one thing that he still finds to be truly comforting in this forsaken world: the moon.

**Author's Note:**

> P.S. - rating may change


End file.
